


Psychonauts and My Hero Academia Crossover Ideas

by RoseBloodCat



Series: Stories Ideas I've had but Probably Won't Write [6]
Category: Psychonauts (Video Games), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:21:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25553473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseBloodCat/pseuds/RoseBloodCat
Summary: I wanted to see a crossover between these two series, but there aren't any that I could find. So I brainstormed some story ideas and now am sharing them for everyone else to see. If you like any of them, feel free to try your hand at writing any of them!
Series: Stories Ideas I've had but Probably Won't Write [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1434760
Kudos: 7





	1. Some General Notes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some general notes that are all constants (for me at least) in these story ideas and I didn't want to write them over and over in each idea. Feel free to use them or ignore them if you try writing them!

All of these stories have a few threads in common in my head:

> Izuku is Quirkless, but a Latent Psychic. (His powers come from his brain, but NOT due to the unique tag/mutation needed for a Quirk)

> Izuku isn’t actually found by the Psychonauts, but he discovers their existence on his own. And learn about them on his own time and research.

> The Psychonauts, as a whole, disappeared just before or during the Advent of Quirks. But there are no obvious explanations of what happened and why. Many agents have Missing Persons reports filed all over the world, but all of their cases have gone cold.

> In these stories (and in my opinion), the True Psychic Tales magazines are presented as fictional kid’s magazines, with real psychic/neurological research sprinkled in. People who aren’t psychic think they’re just meant to be entertaining. The “Stories” in them are actually cleverly disguised, declassified Psychonaut missions. And a way to talk about what’s been happening without revealing psychic powers to the world.

> Izuku splits his time between learning to be a hero and investigating what happened to the Psychonauts (Both the agency and the Agents) and why/how they disappeared.

> Psychonauts are secret agents, so a lot of their skills don’t fit in with Mainstream heroics, as such Izuku aims more towards being a covert/Underground Hero.

> Izuku may also pick up a hero mentor at some point? An (Underground?) hero notices the weird stuff he’s getting up to and either helps him research, train, or investigate (or any combination of the three) as he goes. Their motive could be anything from “This kid has potential” to “These are good questions and now I want answers too” or even “This kid is going to get himself into trouble if I don’t keep an eye on him.” (Eraserhead is the knee-jerk option, but other heroes or even OCs could be interesting.)

> Izuku seems to build his Hero Costumes to reflect the people he gets inspiration from/admires, his costume would probably include features of the psychonauts uniform, a reference to All Might, and whatever other mentors he’d want to incorporate.


	2. Genetic Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Izuku Midoriya, struggling mentally and emotionally from the abuse of the people around him (aside from his mother) is attacked by a villain and awakens his latent psychic powers and the genetic memory of a Psychonaut ancestor that he never knew he had. Seeing the potential his mind has and his dreams of becoming a hero to help people, they promise to help him as best they can.  
> (This idea is inspired by the Waterloo World mindscape/story in Psychonauts belonging to the character Fred Bonaparte.)

> The Genetic Memory Psychonaut doesn’t mess with Izuku’s mind as much as Napoleon did for Fred. Instead, they act a bit more like Ford with Raz. Riding at the back of his mind and giving tips and advice and helping him train to become a Hero.

> Psychonauts already played fast and loose with physics and reality (I’d even say they follow Cartoon Logic because in Psychonauts you can _literally_ sneeze your _brains_ out), so it wouldn’t be too crazy to make up a reason for how they can be riding in Izuku’s mind _without_ making him go crazy.

> Here are a few ideas for the set-up they could have:

  * Genetics + Psychic Awakening (+ Villain’s Quirk?) = Ghost Summoning/Sayance letting the agent’s ghost/spirit/memories possess Izuku.
  * The Agent allowed their brain to be removed and stored with the intent of being awakened to help with emergencies in the future. Izuku’s relation to them let him call their Astral/Mind to him.
  * The Agent’s brain was stolen and hidden somewhere and wasn’t found again. Again, Izuku’s relation lets him call their Astral/Mind to him while he’s under attack.



> Something that’s probably going to be harped on is Izuku respecting his own mental health and boundaries and getting to leave/step back from Toxic people. (Bad friends, harmful mindsets, etc. Mostly the harm and isolation caused by Bakugo at the time. Izuku would argue against _outright_ cutting Bakugo from his life, but they might at least convince him to “Step Back” from Bakugo for a while.)

The following ideas aren’t as much about writing the story as which Psychonaut character should be in Izuku’s head, I have 5 Agents/Characters in mind so I’m going to go over that. The agents I have in mind are Ford Cruller, Sasha Nein, Milla Vodello, (Adult) Razputin Aquato, and (hear me out) Morceau Oleander.

(Please remember, only ONE of these characters will be in Izuku’s head!)

Izuku has 3 major points about himself that could endear him to different agents and motivate them to help him become a hero:

  1. His Psychic/Mental Potential (which is gonna be really big in here)
  2. His Motivations for being a Hero (wanting to help people who need help and not for fame or fortune)
  3. Wanting to be a hero/prove himself despite not having a Quirk/Powers of his own (yet)



> I can see Ford or Sasha being drawn in by Izuku’s potential, both Psychic and Mental, and wanting to help train Izuku’s abilities. They would probably say/think that, if they were still active Psychonauts, they would consider trying to recruit him as an agent. (Or as a research assistant. Since Psychonauts seem to do both.)

  * Ford would probably lean more towards training Izuku as an Agent, covering as many of the powers Izuku would need to at least be decent as an agent. (AKA the general powers all agents/psychics need to know.) And, once he thought Izuku had a handle on them, he’d start trying to find the powers that would/could be Izuku’s specialties.
  * Sasha, on the other hand, would focus more on training/teaching Izuku about the mind and the powers/effects of mental powers. He can see that Izuku has _fantastic_ analytical skills, which he uses to breakdown and understand the quirks around him (usually within minutes of seeing them). He would also be the most prepared to answer Izuku’s questions about, well, everything revolving around the Psychonauts, their work, and their powers.



> Milla (and possibly Raz) would be interested in his reasons for wanting to be a hero. Since Heroics is an actual (and very lucrative) business, most would want to become heroes for selfish reasons.

  * Things like Fame/Popularity [There’s a ranking system for Heroes. And not all of it is based on “How many people have you saved?”], Prestige [everyone seems to treat/think of people better when they turn out to be heroes or are related to Heroes], or money [Higher your ranking, higher your pay. Some heroes even seem to have the mindset of “I won’t help if I’m not being paid].
  * But Izuku? Izuku wants to be a hero for a very _simple_ reason. He wants to help people _for the sake of it._ Yeah, it would be nice if he got those things while being a hero, but it’s not his motive for _doing_ it. Finding people with those kinds of goals/beliefs are few and far between.



> And lastly, Raz and Morceau would probably connect with Izuku over wanting to Prove Themselves in spite of (or even _because_ of) everyone telling them to give up.

  * Both of them had been told for years to either give up their goals or that they couldn’t achieve them. Raz pushed back against it through determination and refusing to let others stop him. From his dad to the people he would first meet while trying to become a Psychonaut, Raz has always been trying to prove himself and embrace who he was as a person. And he would use his powers to help anyone who crossed his path, even when it seemed like something he didn’t _strictly need_ to do.
  * And while Morceau didn’t achieve his original goals (Joining the Army) but he still joined an agency that let him help better the world, he also seemed to do his best to not give up on himself. (to Spite the world, if I had to guess) But even when he was one of the “Bad Guys”, he never did anything that would permanently hurt people. (The Sneezing powder? It would get the brains out without hurting the people they belonged too. And he seemed to take care of the people living in the Asylum. After all, the food and water they needed had to come from _somewhere._ )
  * I can really see him trying to help Izuku, just because he could probably _really connect_ with the issues Izuku faces. Being repeatedly told that he can’t do something because of something he had no control of but had all the skills and potential for (Oleander being too short, Izuku being born without a quirk), no matter how hard he tried to prove he was just as capable.
  * The only thing Izuku is really missing between them is a traumatic childhood event. (Izuku has it, it’s just spread over a longer period of time and not a singular event. And Morry may have forgotten what brought him to Izuku’s head in the first place.)



> And, because someone is bound to ask how Izuku could be related to _any_ of these characters when they don’t aren’t dating a woman/not in a heteronormative relationship, I’d like to point out; we don’t know these characters private lives (Milla, Sasha, and (ADULT!) Raz), if they had prior relationships we don’t know about (Ford), or if they were Sperm/Egg donors (this one feels more like Sasha and Morry’s route). But personally, I don’t think it really matters, and that it would be better to just leave it ambiguous.

> This, especially, is one story where Izuku’s costume would have elements represent people he admired. Specifically, adding an element to address the Agent in his head. (Maybe goggles for Raz? Some subtle tie-dye for Milla? A lab-style coat for Sasha? Some camo for Morry? Or maybe something patterned like Psitainium for Ford? It all depends on who's in Izuku's head.)


	3. Forgotten Powers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Psychonauts vanished into obscurity during the dawn of Quirks. Never known to the public and forgotten by the world. Until a latent Psychic by the name of Izuku Midoriya happens upon a strange badge at the thrift store that sparks his curiosity. And it sends him looking in places that were meant to be forgotten for answers.
> 
> (Izuku discovers the Psychonauts thanks to finding a Merit or Official Agent's badge in a Thrift Store/Flea Market)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Izuku discovers the Psychonauts while looking up what the strange badge he found was and ends up finding more than he bargained for. Most of his skills are built from home, but later he ends up with a private place to learn/perfect his psychic powers and numerous pros that end up helping him refine them even more.
> 
> Out of all the ideas I've had, I have to admit this is the one I'm leaning towards actually trying to write myself.

> The Merit badge could be any of them, but I’m leaning towards it being the Basic Braining badge. It’s the first badge you can get in the game but has no inherent powers of its own (aside from marking you as an “official” camper), but is also just usual enough in appearance that a curious kid like Izuku could decide to investigate. It would also be interesting if it was an Official Agent's badge.

> Izuku does an image search of the badge he found, which leads him to the magazines. Which enthrall him for their “accuracy” for Psychic Quirks and he starts trying to collect him. Reading them and learning about psychic powers as he goes.

> And when he decides to try name-searching the agents mentioned, he stumbles across a 200-year-old “Missing Persons” report logged by one of their friends or family members (who wasn’t an agent and probably didn’t know about the Psychonauts).

> Izuku searches up more names and finds more reports, all dated roughly around the same period of time (give or take a few weeks between each individual.) All of the cases are marked as “cold” meaning they’re unsolved and “technically” closed.

> He researches and _thinks_ he’s managed to locate an abandoned Psychonauts Training camp in Japan and talks his mom into letting him backpack/camp in the area to look for it. (Make up a way for him to basically become the ground’s owner due to finding it. Maybe a deed/document scavenger hunt set up by the deceased previous owner?)

> The camp has it’s own (secret!) underground research facility, with a medium-sized chunk of Psitanium there for research. (The Chunk is _significantly_ smaller than the one seen in the Psychonauts game)

> The Labs have a bunch of videos recorded that are basically video guides of “How to be a Psychonaut”, left by an agent who had been contacted by some of the Precognicent Agents saying something bad was going to happen but none of them knew what. And they wanted a way to train the possible future agents when there might not be an agency to help them.

> Izuku doesn’t awaken his powers for a while, but his partial exposure to the Psitainium ends up slowly pushing him towards having his Psychic Awakening. It isn’t immediate, instead, the power ends up building up in him until it finally “Explodes” out during a tense/stressful situation. (Which could be anything from being attacked by a psychic animal to being at the center of a Villain attack)

> When it does happen, it’s rather traumatic and leaves Izuku with scars on his head. From the attack or from his powers kicking in is up for debate.

> The Lab videos mentioned being careful/aware of your mental health when you first get your powers (have a Psychic Awakening), so Inko/Izuku try to be mindful of it. Especially after Izuku gets his powers.

> The campgrounds become a secondary income for the Midoriya’s after Izuku suggests renting them out to schools. They end up with a rotation of Hero Schools using them to train students without risk since the grounds are fairly isolated. (They don’t tell the students about the secret Labs and they aren’t really allowed in them.) Some hero agencies rent the grounds too, to train new recruits in a (mostly) controlled environment.

> Because of this, Izuku and Inko unintentionally build a social network with the local Hero Agencies/Schools. (Neither realizes how the connections could help them in the future, or how it’s helping Izuku get a foot-in-the-door for his hero career.)

> The camp’s set up (and it’s psychic owners) travel through the Hero School grapevine and eventually reaches UA and catches Nedzu’s interest. First as a place where they can take the students to train, then for the uniqueness of Izuku’s powers (seeming too multifaceted for a simple “Psychic Quirk”) and the unusual animals in the area.

> Nedzu ends up finding a piece of Psitainium lodged in the ground and learns what it is from Izuku, who’s trying to take it from him before something potentially bad can happen (because non-psychics handling psycho-reactive minerals are supposed to be bad/potentially dangerous for them). He is incredibly intrigued by the Psitainium and the Psychonauts by extension. (May tuck in ideas like, due to Psychic abilities and the mind being their main research, they also respected sentience more than any other research faculty. Like animals showing they fully understand the humans around them and removing them from testing if they show negative reactions to the tests. Just, showing humane and respectful values of the subjects. Maybe thrown in references to intelligent animals, just to emphasize how minerals like psitainium amplify/enhances minds and not just psychic abilities)

> He ends up (unofficially) sponsoring Izuku’s hero/research endeavors. He also lets Izuku in on the knowledge that students can be transferred between courses and advises that, if Izuku _really_ wants to get into AU as a student, he should apply for as many of the courses as he thinks he’s comfortable attending. (Hero and Business seem up Izuku’s ally, considering his want to be a hero and that he’s considering restarting the Psychonauts again, but Nedzu suggests applying to General as well, just in case something goes wrong with his other applications. Like getting sick on Testing day or his route being cut off by an accident/villain attack.)

> When Izuku finally enters UA, he’s more prepared than his fellow examinees (and has better back-up plans), but also is more level headed and ready to handle the test that gets thrown at them. He also does better at the written test because his studies didn’t have the chance to fall by the wayside in favor of last-minute physical training.

> I should also mention, Nedzu couldn't give Izuku a recommendation due to being the PRINCIPAL of UA. The last thing he (or Izuku) would need is for someone to accuse him of being Biased. None of the teachers can recommend students for that reason too. Only people _outside_ of UA can recommend students, to make sure there's no bias towards the students themselves. (Nedzu could totally do it, but it would be very frowned upon by everyone else.)


End file.
